It’s week 1 of the NFL season and the first game on Thursday night is a matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. It has been 218 days since the last football game ended and for those who play fantasy football, that’s an eternity.
You look at your watch and it is 8:15, the game starts in 5 minutes. You just sat down to study for your math test but math will have to wait.
When you look for your phone, you realize that it is upstairs.
Putting a solid fantasy team together can require prior knowledge of good players and being able to build your team off of players that will perform well each week. Doing it five minutes before kickoff isn’t the best idea.
Fantasy football can be a lot to handle.
Fantasy sports are a fun way to interact with friends and peers and that is one of the main reasons that it is widely used not only across the country for millions, but also at CSD for those high school students who love to follow the sport.
Many people love to play fantasy football because it can keep you engaged with the NFL and learn about new players you might not know and follow. It is also a way to connect with others.
Fantasy football can turn people who don’t watch football into people who not only watch their players each week but also cheer for them at home.
For example, the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles are rival teams, but if you’re a Giants fan and have the quarterback of the Eagles, Jalen Hurts, as your starter, you can’t decide whether you want him to play well or not.
Fantasy football can change your opinion on certain players which also makes it so enjoyable.
Fantasy football can also help students connect with peers and build friendships, like how many students at CSD have played against their friends at school.
For example, in a local league, there are some players who go to other schools. Playing against them helps build relationships. This can benefit anyone if they want to meet new people who like football just as much as they do.
And playing fantasy football is a great way to connect and compete with family (even those who don’t live locally) through sports. If you have a long distance family, you can talk to them more frequently. The demands of weekly planning acetate conversations and phone chats.
Even for those who don’t take fantasy football too seriously, the week to week conversations are an exciting way to communicate with your family.
Platforms such as Yahoo, ESPN, and MyFantasyLeague are just a few of many that control the market. According to a poll by the New York Times, in June 2023, 43% of people used ESPN, 30% of people used Yahoo, and 19% of people used MyFantasyLeague.
The reason for these choices is because of the analysis it gives on your team and the advice that you receive from the app based on how your team looks. These platforms strive to help players make their team better and give a chance to win more games and move up in the standings.
The question that arises is which platform users prefer at CSD. These three platforms above have been used more than some others due to their reliability and that they give better advice than other platforms. People may try one platform and if they enjoy it, they will stick with that platform for seasons to come once they know how to use it.
“I use ESPN because it is reliable and has more information than the other apps,” CSD freshman Davis Moran (‘28) said.
Drafting the correct players can make or break a roster. There are some players who score more points in a week over other players due to their involvement in their games. If they get the ball more, they score more points.
In order for players to get a lot of points, scoring touchdowns and catching a long pass or gaining a lot of yards on a run can get a player a lot of fantasy points.
To help build lineups, fantasy platforms have a projected amount of points for each player in an individual week. The players with higher projections usually mean that they get involved and get the ball more than other players on their team. The fantasy apps also give suggestions on who to start in each week’s lineup and who to put on the bench.
Who are the best players to draft? A common answer among the fantasy football rankings for the ‘24-‘25 season is Christian McCaffrey, starting running back for the San Francisco 49ers. Christian McCaffrey is rated as one of the top players due to his breakout 2023 season where he had 272 carries, 1,459 rushing yards, and 14 touchdowns.
But there are many people who might argue that Tyreek Hill, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, is a better selection. Tyreek Hill is up there, as well, with 119 catches, 1799 yards and 13 touchdowns in the 2023 season.
“I think Christian McCaffrey is the best player to draft because he is fast and can break through defenders with strength,” Dane Davis (‘28) said,
There are some very common debates about the addictive nature of fantasy football. A common topic about playing is how much time to dedicate day to day or week to week. Setting a player lineup each week is a time-consuming endeavor, and when a player has a “bye” week, or a week where their team doesn’t play, it is important to know the schedule and replace them with a new player.
Failing to act can ruin not only a week but perhaps an entire season, too. If you forget to sit someone who is on a bye week, they will get zero points and will bring your team down significantly. There is only one bye week per player, so make sure you know what week to sit your starters.
Fantasy footballers also have to constantly look at their team, see how to make it better and try to win each week. This is all part of the fun and why some people take fantasy football so seriously.
Rewards and winning are one thing but for some fantasy football leagues, losing and finishing in last place can bring about serious consequences.
In some leagues, the person who finishes in last place at the end of the season might have to do something embarrassing in front of their league mates or something that will entertain the other players.
“CSD used to do a staff and teacher fantasy league and for some reason I always came in last,” Mr. Savicki, Sport in Society and Journalism teacher, said.”It’s not because I didn’t follow football or try my best, I think it is because the players I love just didn’t make it happen in the fantasy football world. It got to the point where I was buying lunches for too many people who knew far less about sports and football than I did.”
Moving forward, the week 1 NFL game has now ended with a final score of 27-20 in favor of the Chiefs.
For those who have Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback, it was the right choice. Mahomes ended up doing pretty well not only as the NFL starter but also as a fantasy football quarterback, too. The Super Bowl winning QB threw for 291 yards, a passing touchdown and 3 rushing yards in the win.
Good thing you remembered to put your math test aside and get your line up in place before kickoff otherwise you would have had no quarterback.
There is NFL football and then there is NFL fantasy football. May the best real or imaginary lineup win.
